Well leaving Kenya was hard. We had grown close to the family we lived with and the church community. On Weds we had two days of travel on buses. We spent one night in Kampala Uganda and then got here on Thurs. So that being said….Welcome to Rakoko Uganda. We are now living in a remote village in the north part of the country. We live in a small community where they live in huts and one room houses. We are living in one room with one bed, we have to walk across the village to use the squatty potty (hole in ground) and have outdoor bucket showers. Life keeps getting more interesting all the time. We are working with an organization called Kingdom Pearl. They work with the youth in the community through sports, having study groups, bible studies and movie nights etc. They want to equip the youth with the love of Christ. We are doing a variety of ministries in that realm this month. We also got to witness a lot of water baptisms this past Sunday which was amazing.
I admit when I got here I think I went through a bit of culture shock. We had 5 star accomodations in Kenya and I thought if this is what Africa is like I can handle this. Coming in with this mindset in a way threw me off. Driving into the town I looked around and thought this is it. There is nothing here. It’s so bare and empty looking. All I wanted to do for the first few days was cry. I wanted to run away and get back to my usual comforts. I struggled and asked God what he was trying to teach me in this.
I have come to realize that he is showing me that following him is not easy and comfortable. In Mark 8:34 Christ said “whoever desires to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me” Are we willing to lay down our lives and take up our cross daily? Even as Jesus laid down his life for us, he invites us to lay down our lives for him. It is not an equal exchange. When we sacrifice for him it opens up a way for him to reveal more of his glory, his way and will for us. Following Christ is not meant to be easy all the time. I believe God is equipping me for what is to come in the future.
I am learning that I need to focus on him more and more instead of what I want. As my friend told me the other night this is all a spiritual attack. The enemy wants to get me down, overwhelmed and scared. I was letting him win. I was reminded I needed to declare that the devil is not going to win and that I am a daughter of the king. This day is the Lord’s and the enemy needs to get lost. I started doing that more and it has helped to reframe my thoughts. Instead of wanting to run away from here I am embracing the experience. Plus how many people can say they have lived like this for a month?
